


Found Family

by fabrega



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Gen, Podfic Available
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-14 19:56:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2201094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabrega/pseuds/fabrega
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Where did it come from?"</p><p>"I am Groot," Groot declares.</p><p>"Who would just <i>hand</i> you a <i>baby</i>?!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Found Family

It's not the noise itself that makes Peter turn around. He's used to the noise of the Edabaranian market, has been since the first time Yondu brought him here as a kid during a refueling stop. Used to be, he'd wear his headphones as he perused the various stores and stalls, wandering along to his own beat, ignoring as much of the hustle and bustle of the place as he could. Now he has to pay attention, because he's got a team to wrangle (somehow, oh god, how did he wind up as the pseudo-adult here). On top of that, word travels fast about the business on Xandar, and so the people of Edabaran have been giving them all a wide, respectful berth that means that the hustle and bustle of the market is much farther away than Peter remembers.

So yeah, the noise. It's not that the noise is happening, it's _where_ it's happening, close enough and loud enough that Peter can tell it's punctured his unasked-for bubble of personal space. For half a second, it's a welcome relief--they're being treated like people again, instead of _heroes_ \--and then he turns around.

Groot is holding a baby.

Peter stares for a second, willing his brain to parse the scene differently. Obviously it's not a baby; that would be ridiculous. It's something else entirely! It's probably just something Rocket had purchased, a small swaddled bundle of...weapons or something. Bomb parts! Definitely bomb parts. Or maybe it's that new set of atom clamps Peter needed for the Milano--he'd mentioned that when Groot was around, right? They've definitely found a way to make those small enough to fit into one of Groot's hands.

He steps closer to Groot. The small, orange bundle in Groot's arms gurgles at him.

So much for staying on the right side of the law for as long as they could.

"Groot, buddy," he says. His voice is calm, his face is calm, his stance is calm, everything about him is calm, relaxed, cool. Edabaran definitely doesn't have overly harsh penalties for kidnapping, which is why Yondu brought him here all the time before the Stockholm syndrome kicked in.

No, nope, all of that is false, he is going to panic.

"Groot," he starts again, "Where did you get that? Because we need to put it back right away."

"Aww man, is he shoplifting again?" Rocket chimes in from somewhere behind Peter. "I swear, we talked about this, just because Quill's a thief doesn't mean you have to--"

"I am Groot."

Rocket saunters up beside Peter, and Groot does not look at either of them, his face turned towards his new charge, one long spindly finger reaching out gently to tickle the baby's nose.

Rocket climbs up Groot's trunk--Groot has grown bigger and faster than Peter had expected, until he'd thought about it; the guy had regrown both arms between Xandar and the Kyln--and the raccoon peers down at the baby. He gives Peter a leery look. "I don't suppose there's any chance this thing is yours?"

"What? No. What?! No!"

Rocket squints at him and then gingerly sniffs at the baby, who sneezes twice and then begins to wail loudly.

Peter panics.

"I'll go find the others, you take this situation back to the ship," Rocket says, gesturing with one small paw at the situation, Groot and the baby and Peter all at once. At Peter's panicked, disbelieving face, he offers, "Unless you'd like to just set the kid down somewhere instead? It doesn't _have_ to be our problem."

 _It's a little late for that_ , Peter thinks as he heads for the Milano, with Groot still holding the baby and lumbering along behind him.

(Will Peter ever get tired of tree puns? Probably not.)

*

Gamora arrives back first and fixes Peter with a steely, unhappy look as she sets her market haul--several large, dangerous-looking knives--down on the table. Next to the weapons, the baby squirms on the tabletop. "I know you're a thief," she snaps, "But this? This is unacceptable."

"Hey," Peter says, holding up his hands, "This was _not_ my idea."

"I am Groot," Groot interjects.

"See? And besides, you think I'd steal a _baby_? Yeah, I'm definitely the kind of guy who thinks it's a great idea to steal a kid away from his parents."

"Yes," Gamora says, and at least she's lowered her voice, "That would be terrible for a child, to no longer have her parents." Peter's not sure, but he thinks Gamora might be sharing a feeling right now. "So how did we end up with this...thing?" She gestures down at the baby, whose little orange nose is wrinkled up in what is, Peter has to admit, an adorable way.

Groot looks up from the baby, waves several long finger-tendrils at Gamora, and grins.

"That explains who and how, but _why_ do we have this child? Is there some sort of bounty on it?" Gamora asks, finally moving close enough to scowl at it directly.

"I am Groot?!" Groot looks taken aback.

"Usually they have the misfortune to be born to the wrong parents," Gamora says, answering what Peter can only assume was Groot's question of _why would a baby have a bounty on it_. "Although I have heard tell of one species that ages backwards; perhaps this child is older than it looks. I have never encountered such a being myself, but the universe is a very big place."

When Rocket returns, he's alone. "Where's Drax?" Peter asks.

"He's coming; he had some things he had to wrap up." Rocket waves a paw at Peter dismissively. "The more pressing question is, Quill: what are we gonna do about this thing Groot has acquired for us?"

"What does one usually do with a child that isn't theirs?" Gamora asks.

Rocket shrugs. "I dunno, put it in the lost and found? Those take kids, right?" He creeps up to the table and eyeballs the baby again. It sneezes once more. "Where did it come from?"

"I am Groot," Groot declares.

"Who would just _hand_ you a d'ast baby?!"

That's when Drax arrives back. He drops his haul on the table next to Gamora's knives and the baby: bottles, diapers, blankets, tiny shoes. Under the weight of everyone's stares, he looks perplexed. "Rocket told me that Groot had acquired a baby; should we not be prepared?"

Peter sighs and thinks about how much simpler his life had been before he'd met these weirdoes. "We're not keeping it, Drax! It has to go back, all of this--" he waves his hand vaguely over the table, "--has to go back."

"Even my knives?" Gamora asks.

"What? No, you can keep the knives, that's not what I--"

"Why can she keep her knives but I can't keep my purchases?" Drax demands.

"Well, okay, you're welcome to keep this stuff," Peter amends, "But we're not gonna have a baby for you to use any of it on, so--"

"I am Groot!"

"No, no, the baby is the one thing that is very non-negotiably getting returned--" and everybody is talking at once, louder and louder, until the baby's unhappy shrieking cuts across their shouting and shuts them all up at once.

"You've upset her," Drax says, picking the baby up off the table, cradling it ever-so-gently in his arms and making small, sweet noises at it. Slowly, the shrieking and sobbing trails off and is replaced by happy cooing noises. The baby raises both of its tiny, chubby hands and grabs for Drax's face.

Everyone is still for a long moment. In that moment, Peter imagines what it would be like to keep the baby, just flying off now and keeping it and raising it as their own. He does not know a whole lot about babies, but he knows that they're messy, they cry a bunch, they don't sleep like normal people, and they are literally full of shit, none of which are really selling points. Still, it almost seems like it might be worth it for the look on Drax's face right now.

Gamora catches his eye. He swallows hard and nods. "We can't keep it," Gamora says gently.

"We can. We could," Drax counters, and Peter wants to look away, they haven't been a team for that long but he's never heard Drax this--this vulnerable, this hopeful, this hurt.

"We shouldn't," Gamora says. "A child needs its parents."

"Growing up in space with a bunch of criminals isn't so great either," Peter adds, when it becomes apparent that Gamora wants him to add something. "I grew up in space with a bunch of criminals, and look how I turned out."

Drax raises an eyebrow. "You saved a whole planet."

"Maladjusted," Peter continues, ignoring Drax. "I turned out awesome, but pretty maladjusted. It's a tough life, hanging out in space with criminals. You ought to choose it."

Drax turns to look at Rocket. "Hey," Rocket says, backing away, "Don't look at me; I don't got wisdom to impart. I think it might be allergic to me, though, if that changes anybody's mind one way or the other."

Drax nods his head slowly. "It is the best for the child. May I... may I have a moment?"

"Really, dude? You've been holding it for, like, thirty seconds--"

*

"We'd be terrible parents, right?" Peter says aloud, leaning up against the wall of the hangar as they wait for Drax to say whatever weird goodbyes he needs. Their plan, insofar as they have one, is to take the baby to the local police station and hope for the best.

" _Terrible_ parents," Gamora agrees.

"I am Groot."

"I don't care about your opinion; you _stole_ a _child_ ," Peter says. He is mostly teasing, and he hopes that Groot can tell.

"I...am Groot."

Rocket makes a choked noise at Groot's statement. "Wow, okay, that's not how family--" he begins, but then he looks at the others and falls silent. "You can't just choose 'em. They gotta choose you too."

*

At the sight of them, the woman sinks to her knees and starts crying in the middle of the police station, which Peter hopes is a good sign? Next to her, a little girl who can't be more than six or seven is poking at her, declaring, "See? I _told_ you I handed her to a tree!"

"Uh, sir?" one officer says as three more cautiously step up to Groot. "We're going to need to ask you a few questions. The rest of you, wait here." She gestures at Rocket, who is perched on Groot's shoulder. "That means you too, uh, sir."

Rocket grins wickedly and scampers down. "Good luck!" he calls after them, and each one grips her weapon a little more tightly.

"State your name for the record," the lead officer says to Groot.

"I am Groot," Groot responds.

Meanwhile, Drax has deposited the baby back with its mother, who has clutched it tight to her chest and is still sobbing with hopefully joy. "Thank you," she says to Drax, over and over again, "Thank you, thank you." Peter expects him to snap back at her, something like _cease your wailing, woman!_ (This is exactly what he shouted at the Rigellian they rescued from space slavers last month, who had been through kind of a lot and had been well within her rights to have a good cry about it.) Instead, he steps back and gives the woman space.

"Who are you and what have you done with Drax?" Peter asks him quietly.

Drax narrows his eyes. "Friend Quill, _I_ am Drax," he says, "Do you no longer recognize me?"

"No, yeah, I'm just surprised by your softer, cuddlier side." 

"No side of me is 'cuddly'. I do not have a cuddly side." Drax's frown promises violence.

"He's killed people for calling him less," Gamora adds helpfully.

"I just--oh, forget it."

The woman is finally beginning to calm down, so of course, Rocket asks her hopefully, "I don't suppose there's any chance of a reward?"

"You took my sister away!" the girl says.

"Yeah, and you handed her to us in the first place, so what? Also, we brought her back! Imagine what might've happened if we'd been _unscrupulous_ people!"

*

"So what are you gonna do with all those diapers and bottles and things?" Peter asks Drax as they all make their way back to the market.

Drax shrugs. "Perhaps they will be of use next time." And then he and Gamora and Rocket wander off into the market again, leaving Peter calling after them.

"Next time? What next time? There isn't going to _be_ a next time." Peter shoves his fists deep into his coat pockets. "There'd better not be a next time."

"I am Groot."

"You are _not_ helping," Peter tells him.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Cover for "Found Family" by Fabrega](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3570464) by [RunawayMarbles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunawayMarbles/pseuds/RunawayMarbles)
  * [[podfic] Found Family](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3708147) by [fabrega](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabrega/pseuds/fabrega), [reena_jenkins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reena_jenkins/pseuds/reena_jenkins)
  * [Walking On Eggshells](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3730759) by [CAPSING](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CAPSING/pseuds/CAPSING)




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